


Vulcans Can Smile

by zeddpool



Category: Star Trek, Star Trek: Alternate Original Series (Movies)
Genre: Believe me this is a McSpirk fic disguised as an OC fic, But it drives the plot toward eventual McSpirk, Discussion of Vulcan history, Fairly heavy focus on OC, Fuckin Two Birds One Stone, M/M, McSpirk - Freeform, Multi, OC Introductory Fic, Other, discussion of disability
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-11-08
Updated: 2016-11-08
Packaged: 2018-08-29 20:26:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 862
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8504245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zeddpool/pseuds/zeddpool
Summary: Bones was ... perplexed.
He'd seen something he couldn't possibly have seen.
Leonard McCoy had just seen a Vulcan... smile.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Just a fair warning, this fic gets a bit depressing at a couple parts. I really wanted an outlet to talk about my problems with the lack of Disabled representation in Star Trek, especially the complete absence of Disabled Vulcans. Full disclosure here, I really do not agree with the theory I used here, I do not want to believe it, but for the purposes of the story it seemed the most plausible theory I found. Hopefully in a future fic I'll introduce my own, more positive theory, but for now I hope you'll still read it.

Bones was... perplexed.

He'd seen something he couldn't possibly have seen.

Leonard McCoy had just seen a Vulcan... smile.

He looked over again, just to check that he hadn't imagined it, but no, there was, within a doubt, a Vulcan smiling and laughing with one of the nurses. Laughing for god's sake! Bones was unnerved to say the least.

The Vulcan in question was here for a routine physical, as was the rest of gamma shift. He wore a gold uniform with a lieutenant's stripes on the sleeves, and if it weren't for the pointed ears and eyebrows peeking out from under dark, wavy hair, the good doctor wouldn't have noticed him at all. But notice he did and now he was outright staring at the smiling Vulcan in his medbay, and now he was looking, he realised that the smile wasn't the only notable thing about the Vulcan's face. Just below the sharp brows were a pair of impossibly blue and noticeably wide-set eyes, followed by a sloped nose that seemed to lack the bump that most had, and a flat upper-lip with no cupid's bow. Above his face, though, was a patch of white hair, right in front, in stark contrast to the dark waves that covered the rest of his head. It was by no means an unattractive face, but certainly unique.

_'Waardenburg Syndrome...'_ The doctor realised. Certainly not unheard of, but definitely the first Vulcan McCoy had ever seen with the condition. Come to think of it, McCoy had rarely ever seen any Vulcan that seemed in any way unique from the others. No deaf Vulcans, no blind Vulcans, no disabled Vulcans of any sort. It seemed impossible now that he thought about it. He made a note to ask Spock about it later. For now, he had physicals to do.

* * *

Later, in the mess hall, McCoy waited until Jim and Spock were seated and there was a lull in the conversation to bring it up.

"I met an interesting crewmember during  the gamma shift physicals today. A Vulcan,-"

"Wow, Bones, and here I thought hell would've frozen over before you met a Vulcan you didn't hate!"

"-as I was saying, he was a Vulcan, a lieutenant from in command gold, with Waardenburg syndrome. I'll admit I don't know too much about it, just a brief summary from a medical textbook, but that wasn't even the oddest thing about him..."

"Oh, no? Do tell."

"He smiled."

Jim actually choked on his food. Spock looked shocked. Or, at least, as shocked as a Vulcan could look.

"And not just that little quirk at the corner of the mouth that Spock does when he's really pleased with himself-"

"I do not-" Spock began to interject, but Bones ignored him.

"- I mean he really smiled, teeth and all. He even laughed to one of the nurses!"

"I gotta say, Bones, you've got me tempted to take gamma shift just to meet this kid. What was his name?"

"Synak, I think. You two might get along. Make sure to stay to his right. He's mostly deaf in his left ear. It's not uncommon in people with Waardenburg syndrome. Ah! That brings me to what I've been meaning to ask!"

He turned to Spock, who straightened slightly under the doctor's pointed gaze.

"How come I've never seen any disabled Vulcans? Well, not never, but rarely, and never anything very noticeable, but still! They clearly exist, yet I've never seen one until today! Doesn't that seem odd to you?"

Spock seemed to be thinking of what to say, but soon took a breath and replied,

"As you know, I am seen by my Vulcan peers as being flawed, lesser for my half-human heritage. This is not a new mindset for our species, unfortunately. For a long time in our history, any Vulcan who was 'flawed' in any way was deemed unnecessary for society. If they were an adult, they were often left to their own devices, unaided and unwanted. If they were a child, the parents were given a choice: raise the child with your own resources, or give them up, which often meant the death of the child. There were always been people who opposed the barbarity of the old system, but, unfortunately, it wasn't until First Contact, seeing the great accomplishments and contributions the disabled had made in human society that we made drastic changes to the system. Unfortunately, the values of that era are not completely gone, and there are still many Vulcans who refuse to raise a child that deviates from the norm. So, yes, Doctor. There are disabled Vulcans, and I will be the first to admit that there is a reason their seeming rarity is not more commonly discussed."

McCoy was tempted to punch the nearest Vulcan he could find, but Spock looked just as furious as he felt. At least, for a Vulcan. Jim was in no better shape, though there was an underlying look of determination on his face that worried Bones.

"I want to talk to Synak the first chance I get."

* * *

Unbeknownst to all of them, that chance would come sooner than they thought.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you like it so far, but I sincerely apologise if you had issues with the theory I used. That being said, Synak is one of my oldest Star Trek children, and I hope you like him. For those who don't, I assure you that this fic is ultimately about McSpirk. I seem to have developed a habit of using my OCs as a way to drive plots for ship fics, and I'm sorry about that. I honestly don't know why I do it. 
> 
> Anyway, I will update when I get the motivation, but I warn you, my muse is a petty, fickle, and lazy SoB. Comments are always appreciated.


End file.
